This section provides the visitor with the content and background for the subjects in the petroglyphs, such as humans, animals, and plants. It also provides interpretations of complex scenes that incorporate many figures that together convey an event. The scenes mostly depict activities relating to hunting and warfare. In this section, the visitor will learn about the people who created the rock art of Saudi Arabia and their environment.
Subjects & Scenes
Examples:
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Goat
Goats are one of the world’s oldest domesticated animals, having been brought under human control more than 10,000 years ago. They have been kept for their milk, meat, and hair throughout history. Approximately 2.2 millions goats live in Saudi Arabia.
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Lion
The lion is one of the four large felines, second in size only to the tiger. The male lion has a distinctive mane, and their coats have been very valuable through history. Lions have been associated with persons of high status through the millennia and across the continents. Lion hunting has been a sport of royalty and nobility around the ancient world.
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Onager or African Wild Ass
The wild equine that is depicted in Arabian rock art could have been either the African wild ass (Equus africanus) or the Near Eastern onager, (E. hemionus). Until adequate skeletal remains are found in archaeological sites this question remains open. It is possible that both species occurred in different regions of the Arabian Peninsula. The onager is definitely [...]
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Date Palm
The trunk of the date palm is covered in upward-pointing, overlapping woody leaf bases.The palm leaf has a stout midrib that can reach 6 m (20 ft.) in length, with slender gray-green or bluish green pinnae, ranging from 20-40 cm (8-16 in) in length, emerging from it. Date palms produce inflorescences of up to 10,000 small, fragrant flowers (females are white, males are cream-colored [...]